


It's a Long Long Way to Ba Sing Se

by themeatandsarcasmguy



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ba Sing Se, Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Fluff, Gay Zuko (Avatar), M/M, Minor Aang/Katara, Mutual Pining, The Jasmine Dragon (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar) is Bad at Feelings, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, and unsurpsisingly everything goes wrong, maybe angst at some point?, no beta we die like jet, now it's tea shop fun times, until the gaang shows up, zuko gives up on hunting the avatar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 04:46:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29977575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themeatandsarcasmguy/pseuds/themeatandsarcasmguy
Summary: It had been almost half a year since Zuko and his uncle had arrived at Ba Sing Se.Now, they work in a tea shop in the upper ring, the Jasmine Dragon.Zuko had finally started to accept his new life, until one day a strange group of teenagers rock up at the shop.Of course, everything just had to change after that.
Relationships: Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 54





	It's a Long Long Way to Ba Sing Se

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this is my first fic!  
> please let me know what you think  
> tags will hopefully be added as the story continues  
> i don't have an upload schedule so far, but i may add one in the future  
> sorry if this is a bit short!  
> all mistakes are my own
> 
> hope you enjoy!

It had been almost half a year since Zuko and his uncle had arrived at Ba Sing Se. Uncle had been trying to convince him for ages before, but he had finally given in once Azula had been sent to kill him. _(Father doesn’t care about you. He never has.)_

Now Uncle owned his own tea shop, and they were happy. _(Am I?)_ Life was better than on the ship, but he still missed home. But it was calm. Uncle was happy, at least. It was nice to be off the dark, cold husk of metal. A small part of him missed the waves rocking him to sleep, the gentle sounds that the ocean made. Now he lay in his bed, the quiet mumblings of the Upper Ring outside his window, the occasional lamp turned on, and then shortly off again. He closed his eyes, maybe to sleep, maybe to be alone with his thoughts.

Zuko woke quite late in the morning, the sun seeping through his window. He got up, dressed, and headed into the kitchen of his apartment. Uncle was already up, a pot of tea already on the table. Did Uncle ever drink anything else?

“Good morning, Zuko. Would you like some tea?”

Zuko was sick of tea. He worked in a tea shop. He barely drank anything other than tea.

“Sure.”

He sat down, as Iroh poured him a cup.

“You look troubled, Nephew. Is something on your mind?”

Something was definitely on his mind. A customer mentioned that the Avatar had returned. The _Avatar._ The very myth he had been sent on a wild goose-monkey chase on. This could solve everything. Or it could ruin everything. Everything in Ba Sing Se that they had worked for. Not to mention, that there was rumor that the Avatar was in Ba Sing Se, looking for his _Sky Bison._ Weren’t they extinct? So, yes Uncle, there is definitely something on his mind.

Zuko took a sip of his tea. “No, nothing. I’m fine,” Zuko said. He knew he was not a good liar. Uncle knew he was not a good liar. Uncle didn’t prod at it, though.

“Well, should we get going, then?” Uncle said, attempting to brighten the mood. “Alright,” Zuko sighed.

Zuko never did much apart from work at the Jasmine Dragon. He didn’t have any friends. He used to have a friend, Jin, who would come to the old tea shop they worked at, but he never saw her anymore after they moved to the upper ring. _(You’ll never see her again. It never worked out, anyway. You know that.)_

Zuko stood up, and prepared to leave. He held the door open for Iroh, and then locked it behind him. The Upper Ring was a lot quieter than the Lower ring. No thieves around the corner, no people on the street, and the looming threat of the Dai Li was much less present. 

As they walked, Zuko still glanced behind him, somewhat worried. His only experience with the Dai Li was when they took that whatsit-fighter away. It… scared him. He hadn’t seen the boy since.

Zuko shook his head and turned the corner, to enter the Jasmine Dragon. Not Zuko, he reminded himself. He was Lee now. He sighed, and Uncle unlocked the shop. The rest of the day went how every day did. Uncle made tea, he took orders and served the customers. Everyone loved Uncle’s tea. _(I mean, Uncle’s tea is good, but not that good, right? Had these people never had good tea before?)_ Zuko was fine with it. They made good money. Occasionally they would have an annoying customer, but that was a rare sight in Ba Sing Se. Of course it was.

Everything went as normal until a group of four showed up. He hadn’t really looked at them until he came to take their order. “Hello, can I help-'' He looked up at them. There were two Water Tribe teenagers, a small girl in green with cloudy eyes, and.. an _Airbender._

The boy was wearing Air Nomad orange, with a tattoo of a blue arrow on his head. Zuko stood there, blinking. He had studied airbenders enough during exile to know what they looked like. Had some survived? Wait, wait, wait, wait. He wracked his brain. The last Avatar was an airbender, right? That was the cycle. And.. didn’t a customer mention that the Avatar was an airbender..? _(Is this eleven-or-something-year-old who I was supposed to capture?)_

The airbender spoke up. “Uh.. Are you okay?”

Zuko snapped out of his trance. “Uhm, yes, uh, I’m fine. Uh. What can i get you?”

“You got anything... meaty here?” The Water tribe boy asked, clearly as a joke.

“Sokka! This is a tea shop, of course they don’t have any meat!” The Water Tribe girl snapped at him. Sokka pouted. The girl turned to Zuko. “Sorry about my brother. He’s just… Like that.” She chuckled. Sokka let out an upset “Hey!” The Earth Kingdom girl let out a hearty laugh. “Anyway,” the sister continued, “What would you recommend?” She asked. Zuko was still stunned. “Uh, our special is Jasmine tea.” the girl smiled. “Sure, we’ll have that then.”

Zuko took a closer look at the group. The siblings were very similar looking, Zuko should have realised before. They both had dark hair and bright blue eyes. Sokka was actually quite good looking, not that Zuko was- he pushed down the thought. The Earth Kingdom girl was coated in a layer of dirt, probably meaning she was an earthbender. Her eyes were cloudy and white. Was she blind?

After fetching the tea, Zuko set the pot down on the table and poured four cups. He was shaking a little, but he steadied himself. 

“So..” the Earth Kingdom girl said, dragging out the ‘o’. “You work here?” she asked, taking a sip of her tea.

“Yeah, my uncle owns the place” Zuko all but mumbled.

“What’s your name? My name’s Aang!” the airbender piped up

“Uh,” Even six months here, he still didn’t feel used to using the name. “Lee.”

“Alright, Lee,” The Earth Kingdom girl sounded like she knew Zuko was lying, which made him nervous. “Name’s Toph Beifong, greatest earthbender in the world, and don’t you forget it! That knucklehead’s name is Sokka, his sister’s name’s Katara, and in case you weren’t listening, that airhead’s name is Aang.” She said, a huge grin on her face. Sokka made a face at her. Katara rolled her eyes.

“I should probably get back to work,” Zuko mumbled.

“Well- Uh, will we see you again?” Sokka asked, clearly trying to hide back a smile.

“Uh.. Sure?”

**Author's Note:**

> i'm pretty new to writing so sorry if this is bad aha  
> please let me know what you think, and any ideas are appreciated  
> i haven't got a full idea of what i'm going to do moving forward, but i'm enjoying writing this  
> constructive criticism is appreciated!


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